


Conclusion

by thefullmetaledwardelric



Series: A New Senshi [11]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist, xxxHoLic
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-14
Updated: 2014-09-14
Packaged: 2018-02-17 08:27:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2303126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefullmetaledwardelric/pseuds/thefullmetaledwardelric
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a quick heads up. This is the conclusion of "A New Senshi". The last chapter is actually a listing of my notes and thoughts on the story and Thank you so much for reading this far. <3</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Time To Go… Home

They ended up staying the night with Yuko before they decided to leave. That morning Natalie and Edward went outside getting ready to go. Yuko and Watanuki were there to see them off but James was absent.

“Yuko, where’s my father? I thought…”

Yuko shook her head. “No, he can’t be here anymore while you are. The conditions of the deal that was made had been met.”

Natalie looked sad. “Oh, so he leaves without saying good-bye again…”

“It was because he didn’t need to say good-bye Natalie,” she replied with a sly smile.

“What do you mean?” Natalie asked confused.

“Once you’re settled, write,” was all Yuko said in response.

“How…”

“Just open a portal and toss it in, I’ll get it. Oh and did I neglect to mention James visits often?” Yuko said with a wink. “And don’t worry about your mother and your friends, they know you’re safe and they’re fine.”

It took Natalie a moment then it dawned on her. If she sent letters to Yuko then she could share them with her father and as far as her mother and Amy and Katie, well Yuko must have a way to talk to them too. She wanted to ask but something said Yuko wouldn’t tell her if she did. “Will I be ever be able to hear from them?”

“Well portals are two way doors aren’t they? No one can stop me from writing my letters in response to yours.”

Natalie smiled. This certainly put her heart at further ease. “Thank you Yuko, for everything,” she said bowing her head.

Yuko waved it off. “It’s nothing; I’m being properly compensated for my assistance. James certainly does know how to get his hands on premium sake.”

Natalie couldn’t help but to laugh. “At least he’s of use to someone.”

“Indeed.”

Edward then put his hand on her shoulder. “We should get going…”

Natalie put her hand on his and nodded. “You’re right.” She took her pen out and transformed. “Again, thank you.”

Natalie opened the portal that led back to Resembool. They were just getting ready to step through when Yuko remembered something else. “Oh and I think Amy and Nina are wonderful names for a little girls.”

Edward and Natalie both looked at Yuko. “Excuse me?”

“You’ll know what I’m talking about soon enough… Now good luck you two,” she replied basically shooing them away.

They looked at each other equally confused. Edward shrugged knowing there was no way he was going to figure it out now. With a final wave, they stepped through the portal.

When they came out, they were outside the front door of the familiar yellow house on the hill. Edward couldn’t help but to sigh happily, glad to be back. Natalie transformed back to normal. Edward went to go up the stairs but Natalie hung back. When he realized she wasn’t right behind him he turned to look at her.

“Is everything alright?” he asked as he went back down to where she was standing.

Natalie bit at her lower lip and looked away from him. This was it, they were here and she was going to be living here. All of the sudden she got really scared and nervous.

He put his hands on her shoulders and managed to contort himself to look into her eyes. “Come on spill it…” Edward said. Natalie just shook her head. Getting frustrated he decided to pick her up, he quickly slid his arm under her knees and lifted her up, forcing her to wrap her arms around his neck while he put his other arm around her back to support her. Natalie screamed at the sudden action but Edward just laughed. “Fine, if you won’t walk on your own, I’ll just have to carry you!”

“Ed! Put me down!!!!” she squealed still holding onto him for dear life. “Let me go!”

He looked into her eyes and grinned like a goof. “No way, I’m never letting you go.”

Natalie blushed. She didn’t know what to say.

Alphonse came out of the house having heard her scream. “Natalie! Brother! You’re back!”

Edward turned, still carrying Natalie and smiled at his younger brother. “Yup, we’re home. I have to admit, I didn’t expect to see you here Al. I figured you’d still be in Xing.”

“Brother… I already went and came back…”

“That fast? We weren’t gone for even a month…”

Alphonse laughed. “Brother, it’s been over a year since you left…”

Edward almost dropped Natalie in his shock. She had to hold tighter just to make sure she didn’t fall. “Ed! Be careful! Now come on, put me down!”

Alphonse motioned for them to come inside and without putting her down; Edward carried her into the house. It was almost like two newlyweds coming home for the first time. He set her down on the couch and sat down next to her. Alphonse went into the kitchen before joining them.

Natalie gave Edward a look. “I do have two perfectly good legs you know…”

“Yeah I know,” he said with a wink, “but I wanted to carry you.” He ran his hand through his bangs and sighed. “Wow, a whole year…”

“Well didn’t we talk about how time could move differently in different worlds. So I guess even though it was only a few weeks for us, it was a lot longer than that here…”

“Wait, then that means I’d be 18 now… now I’m the same age as you!” Edward said sounding excited.

Natalie shook her head and laughed. “You goof ball that means I’m a year older too.”

Edward looked so defeated when she pointed that out to him. That’s the face he had when Alphonse came back into the room. He couldn’t help but to laugh when he saw his older brother looking that way.

“Ed! It’s been a long time!” said a voice that both Natalie and Edward recognized. When Alphonse had come back into the room he hadn’t been alone.


	2. Everyone Moves Forward Eventually

“May!” Edward said getting up from the couch to go give her a hug. “It has been a long time. What are you doing here?”

May and Alphonse looked at each other and just laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Edward asked, clueless. Natalie figured it out almost instantly.

May took Alphonse’s hand into hers and smiled. “Al convinced me to come back here once we were finished with his training in alchehestry. My clan doesn’t need me anymore especially since Ling kept his word and made sure they’d all be taken care of now that he’s become emperor and I missed you all so much…”

Edward gave his little brother a sly grin. “Oh I get it, you sly dog Al.”

Alphonse blushed. “You’re one to talk brother…” he said looking over at Natalie. “Oh! May, you haven’t met Natalie yet!”

Natalie got up and went over to stand beside Edward. “I’m Natalie Simon,” she said bowing her head slightly.

“May Chang, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she replied.

Edward put his arm around Natalie. “Yup and she’s going to be staying here now.”

Alphonse looked at them a bit strangely. “Staying here? Really? I have to admit, I didn’t even expect you two to come back…”

Natalie sighed a bit then smiled. “Well, yeah. This is going to be my home now since Edward asked…”

“I asked her to come back here and stay with me, forever.”

“You mean...?” Alphonse started.

Edward grinned wide. “That’s right.”

Alphonse grabbed Edward and Natalie and hugged them. “Congratulations you two! See Brother, I told you she would be good for you!”

Edward and Natalie just laughed as they hugged him back. “Thanks Al but what about you?” Edward said as they let go.

“Well, um…”

May laughed. “Nothing so grand, not yet anyway…”

Edward and Natalie both just shook their heads and Alphonse blushed.

“You know what, why don’t we make some lunch and we can all catch up on things,” May said with a smile.

“Sounds good,” Alphonse said. “Um, but first… Natalie, Brother, can I talk to you two first?” Alphonse asked sounding a bit nervous.

Natalie and Edward looked at each other wondering what he could possibly want to talk to them about without May there. Why did he sound so unnerved? “Sure Al,” Edward replied.

They both sat back down on the couch and Alphonse sat in a chair opposite them. “I don’t want to pry because well it’s really none of my business but um… while you two were gone… did you… um…” Alphonse couldn’t seem to vocalize what he was thinking.

“What is it Al?” Natalie asked.

Alphonse took a deep breath and tried another way to ask. “Well, while I was studying with May she taught me how to read people’s chi and well Natalie… Um… well to be honest I felt two very small, very faint ones along with yours when I hugged you earlier…”

Natalie and Edward looked at Alphonse then at each other then blushed a deep shade of red. “Wait, are you saying…?” Natalie started as she put her hand on her stomach.

“But it was just that one time…” Edward said. “And it wasn’t that long ago, how could there be anything there to…”

Natalie just smiled softly. “I’m not completely normal and neither are you anymore Ed…” she said softly.

“You think it has something to do with the stuff that Serenity and Endymion told us about?”

Natalie nodded. “I think that’s exactly it.” She then looked down at her stomach and then over at Alphonse, the soft smile on her face. It would seem that Yuko had been right about the Gatekeeper not taking this from her. “Thank you for telling us Al…”

Edward put his arms around Natalie and hugged her close and she hugged him just as tightly. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear.

Tears started streaming down her cheeks, this is the happiest she had ever been.


	3. A Letter To Those Left Behind

_Dear Yuko,_

_It’s been quite a long time since I saw you last and I’m sorry it took this long to write my first letter to you. I hope this letter finds you and Watanuki well. Things have been so busy and crazy here since we got back though, if I’m right, it hasn’t been nearly as long a time there as it has been here._

_Edward and I were married soon after coming back since it would seem that you had been right and the keeper hadn’t taken away my ability to have children. It was actually good that we’d already planned to do it, we just moved ahead a little faster than we had planned on. But we all know how destiny or hitsuzen works, we can’t fight it, just choose how we get there. The girls were born not too long later, twins, Amy and Nina. Thanks for the advice on their names by the way, they really were great little girl names. They’re seven now and quite a handful but we couldn’t have asked for more perfect little ones. I’ve included pictures of them and from the wedding and from lots of other points in our lives so far so you can share them._

_Edward has gone back to being a State Alchemist too, but thankfully now that Mustang is in charge of the military here, being a State Alchemist doesn’t mean he has to be a human weapon or a “dog of the military” anymore. Actually he’s become a teacher. Imagine that, Edward a teacher. Aspiring alchemists from all over Amestris come to Resembool to learn alchemy from him. Sometimes it keeps him away for awhile at a time but usually it isn’t so bad. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised though, given the fact that he was the youngest State Alchemist in history and one of the people that saved Amestris from complete destruction. I even used the idea of him teaching me alchemy to get close to him to begin with. I can’t miss the irony in that. His brother Alphonse helps him out from time to time considering he’s pretty gifted himself and a master of not only Amestrian alchemy but Xingese alchehestry as well._

_Alphonse actually spends the majority of his time with May at their clinic though. They were married about a year after Edward and me and their son, Maes, was born about a year later. The girls pick on him something terrible but protect him just as much. If you didn’t know better you’d swear he was their little brother not their cousin._

_Amy and Nina are showing a lot of promise in alchemy already too. I try to get them to leave it be until they’re older but I can’t argue when Edward counters with how young he learned to do it so I’ve given in and let him teach them. Though I can see powers like mine growing in Nina so I know it won’t be too long before I’ll be teaching her of the responsibilities that go along with it. I’m just hoping the power doesn’t completely awaken until she’s at least 18, the age I was when I received my power._

_Izumi and Sig visit often too. She insists that the girls need to learn martial arts as well and though Edward and I train them regularly, she always says we’re too soft with them. Neither Edward nor I stop her though; we know she won’t be coming to visit much longer. Even now, they don’t visit as often as they did. Izumi’s health has really turned for the worse but we’re all just glad she has lasted this long. She’s been a world of help to me and she treats the girls like her own grandchildren but then Edward and Alphonse were like sons to her._

_Oh, I almost forgot to mention that we’re going to be blessed one more time. We recently found out that we’re going to be having another baby. Edward says he hopes for a little boy this time but I know he feels the same way I do, it doesn’t matter if it’s a little boy or a little girl, we’ll be happy just as long the baby is healthy. May and Alphonse have been seeing to that though._

_Our little house in Resembool is so full of life and love and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. We’ve been truly blessed for all of the heartache and pain we’ve both had to endure to get here. Everyone gathers at our house regularly and there’s so much laughter and good times it makes everything else seem like another life._

_When you see my father again, when you talk to my mother and my friends, please let them know that things are good here and that I miss them and think of them often. I hope their lives are filled with as much joy as mine is._

_Hopefully I’ll hear from you soon. Thank you again for everything you’ve done and that you’re still doing for me and for Edward._

_Natalie Elric_

 

Just as Natalie finished the letter and was sealing it in an envelope, Edward came in from outside. “Hey beautiful, what’s taking so long? The girls are getting antsy and they won’t start their alchemy lesson if you’re not there too.”

Natalie chuckled and quickly transformed to make the portal to send the letter. “I’ll be along in a second. Just need to send this to Yuko.” With the portal open she slipped the letter in and closed it. Changing back she took Edward’s hand and kissed him on the cheek. “Alright dear, let’s get going. We can’t keep Amy and Nina waiting now can we?”


	4. Author’s Notes

Now that I’ve finished “A New Senshi” I have to admit I’m pretty sad. I’ve grown pretty close to my characters over the time that I’ve spent with them and writing for them. It feels like I’m saying good-bye to a dear friend. That being said though I’m also very proud of myself for getting here. Until “A New Senshi” I had never written anything of this length and had never written a fan story before. It was actually a bit overwhelming when I sat down to start this. Pure determination actually was the only thing that really made me do it, proof to myself that I actually could. I also drew a lot of support and inspiration from knowing that as I posted this story to my writer’s blog, there were people reading it. I didn’t want to let them down either. Thank you for that. I just hope that I’ve also inspired and intrigued my readers enough to maybe pick up and watch and/or read the stories I’ve used. If I get you to read even one story you might not have otherwise, well I think my efforts are far from wasted.

There are a few things I think should be known about the worlds I drew from as well. I admit to taking quite a lot of liberties with the characters from the worlds I drew my inspiration from, the biggest liberty came in the form of Edward Elric and if you’ve ever seen or read Fullmetal Alchemist you know just how much liberty I took. I’d like to think that I explored a side of Ed that we never really got to see while journeying with him and his brother as they fought to find the philosopher’s stone and get their bodies back. That being said, the rest of these notes will be more about the exact worlds I drew from and some insights into why I chose them and why I chose to manipulate them in the ways I did.

 

**Sailor Moon – Naoko Takeuchi**

 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailor_Moon>

This is the first anime and manga I was ever fully exposed to and to this day remains one of my favorites. I worked primarily in 30th Century Crystal Tokyo as I knew it from the manga. When crafting Natalie’s rules and powers I drew very much on the way the outer scouts had been set up. It was actually a lot of fun to have my own sailor scout to play with. Believe it or not, even the rules I set for how Edward could gain Natalie’s life span were pretty close to truth from the original Sailor Moon story. Takeuchi-san never REALLY gets into it in that much detail but given what she did write, well it was a safe assumption to be made I think. I do wish I might have been able to play more here and maybe give Endymion more than what I did but the more I thought about the more I didn’t like it. Every time I tried it just felt like needless filler and I’m really not a fan of such things.

 

**xxxHolic – CLAMP**

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XxxHolic>

Holic is one of the two mangas responsible for my obsession with CLAMP. The other is Tsubasa: The Reservoir Chronicle. For those that have read Tsubasa you will actually understand the reference I made to Sakura and her party in Section 10.2 when James is explaining to Natalie where he’s been. These two stories go very much together. Using Yuko and her shop just seemed very natural to me given that Yuko is the Time/Space Witch. I worked from the world established in the manga as I do enjoy the manga more than the anime that was created from it. It is decent though and I would definitely tell anyone it’s worth checking out, but the manga in this case was far better. This world afforded me with a lot of play room too which made it even more fun. Yuko in herself is such a great character. I even thought about using Watanuki more but the idea I had just didn’t seem to fit for Watanuki at all considering his affections lay pretty well grounded with Himawari-chan. Yes, I actually did toy with having more than just Edward fall for Natalie, as you got a hint of when they were around Negi.

 

**Fullmetal Alchemist – Hiromu Arakawa**

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fullmetal_Alchemist>

This one is very easily and very quickly becoming my favorite anime/manga story yet, even passing Sailor Moon. I pulled from everywhere for this one, the two animes (Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood), the manga, the movie (The Conqueror of Shambala), and even the second PS2 video game (Curse of the Crimson Elixir). When I set out to pick which Edward to use it was a tough choice between the one from Brotherhood and the one from the original anime. I had actually thought that saving the original anime Edward would be the reason for Natalie to meet him and the reason why he would travel with her. The more I thought about it though the more I didn’t want to do that. My reason was simple; I thought it would be too complicated given that Alphonse was also trapped in the alternate world with him. He wouldn’t leave his little brother there. So I decided to use the Edward from Brotherhood instead. I know I probably pissed off every person who thought that Edward and Winry belonged together too. I didn’t think so, not in Brotherhood anyway, and that was also a part of the reason why I picked that Edward to be the one who fell in love with Natalie. I actually thought that the Winry in the original anime deserved to get him more than the Winry in Brotherhood did so I took the liberty of setting that little bit straight. As for the reference to the game I made, well that was a small one. The ring that the original Edward gave to the Brotherhood Edward, it was the ring that Edward picks up and uses in the Curse of the Crimson Elixir game. (The game is based on the original anime story.) In the game he loses it but hey I was already taking liberties so why not one more right?

 

**Black Butler – Yana Toboso**

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Butler>

The smaller part of this world that played into my story is drawn from both the anime and manga for this story. I admit to only including this because I wanted a chance to write a little for Sebastian. I also figured given Natalie’s abilities, it would be fun to have a ferryman meet a demon. When I originally set out to write this though, I had more planned for the Black Butler world, even a meeting with the Grim Reapers. In actually writing though I just felt it was too much. I may go back someday and add it all in though, but I wouldn’t count on it too much.

 

**Negima! Magister Negi Magi – Ken Akamatsu**

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negima!_Magister_Negi_Magi>

This is probably the most fun manga I’ve ever read even given how dark and serious it can be. I just loved the idea of being able to have my characters play around during the school festival so I had to work this one in. There are two animes for this as well but if you’re going to indulge yourself in this world as I have the manga is the only way to do it. The portion of the world that I used came exclusively from the manga. The ball here was probably the biggest liberty I took since in the manga this doesn’t happen but I thought it would fun to be able to manipulate Negi in his teen-age form even if it was only briefly. There’s a part of me that wishes I could have had Edward or Natalie actually fight against the magical staff too and I even toyed with having that happen when they arrived instead of having them go right to the Headmaster. I also toyed with working at least Edward into the martial arts tournament. Imagine Negi and his magic against Edward and his alchemy. That would be a battle to see for sure and I’m left to seriously wonder who would win. It just didn’t really fit into the way I was writing this part of the story though so I didn’t include Edward in the tournament. That and I didn’t really want to mess with the match-ups that had been established in the original story, they were just perfect the way they were. I also loved the idea of making my own pactio contract. At first I thought Natalie would make it with Negi considering Negi was having trouble with his own emotions and instead directing them where they should have gone (cough, cough, Asuna, cough cough) he directed them at Natalie and that would be the point where Edward got jealous but then I got the ball idea and liked that more. I couldn’t abandon the pactio idea though. Oh and if you’re wondering how a permanent contract is made, well, sadly you will have to wait right along with me as Akamatsu-san has yet to even write about it enough to know too much about it.

 

**Bleach – Tite Kubo**

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach_%28manga%29>

This one is just all sorts of butt-kicking fun and I had to use it. I didn’t want to make this about Ichigo though and it actually stemmed from a joke my husband and I made about Toshiro. I forget now exactly what brought it up but I ended up describing the shopping scene as part of the joke. I loved it and wanted to use it too. I have to admit though to only having this really here as a way to move Natalie and Edward’s relationship. Having Renji duke it out with Edward though, that was fun. I would actually like to see how Edward would really stack up against Renji and the other Soul Reapers but I hold that simply as wishful thinking.

 

Thank you everyone who stuck with me for this, I appreciate you all.


End file.
